Singapore's Reality
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kiasu_student:
Hi there, I do understand that Singaporeans now have different perspectives at a different point of view. However, what I am trying to emphasise is the fact that 6.9 million people in Singapore will also means about 10000 per square kilometer. This is one thing that Singapore can be number one for. The competition will definitely increase due to cause and effect. At 4 million population, stress and competitiveness is steadily increasing. Perhaps this might led to kiasu parents website. I used to have a friend started learning trigonometry in P6. Thus, I had to also catch up with that friend who was a new Singapore Citizen. Perhaps this is why I am so kiasu. Luckily, now I am way ahead of him, learning calculus :).
Did you watch 校园superstar competition? The trailer show the students singing in hong kong uniform!! For a moment I thought it is another TVB production. :skeptical: -
We are the only viable resource in our little red dot.
In 1988 while I was studying overseas, my classmates from Taiwan and Hong Kong were comparing what we had learnt for maths in primary school. Can't recall the details, but distinctly had the impression that Taiwan was ahead by one year, and Hong Kong by two years compared to Singapore's standards. The eighties, mind you.
Ten over years ago while holidaying in Hong Kong I had to struggle with my limited Cantonese to communicate cos no one really spoke conversant English and Mandarin. Went back for a holiday again two years ago, I was so shocked to find the MTR middle aged male attendant could speak reasonably good English, and the even older lady at the lost baggage counter in the airport was speaking in Cantonese, English and Mandarin!! Also saw 2 young girls (late teens/early twenties) at a busy busy bakery doing their jobs well with good spirit, and one still running after a customer who had forgotten her change. All I could think of was if the equivalent were to happen in Singapore we'd have gotten two grumpy little Singaporean twits. No wait, it would have been foreign talents at the cash register cos the Singaporeans cannot tahan.
Also, kids in Hong Kong have to be interviewed for entry into prestigious PRIMARY schools to show how multitalented they are. Primary One starts the year the kids turn 6, one year earlier than Singapore :yikes:
We are a developed nation and we face problems all developed nations face*, with the problems exacerbated by, well, see my first statement above, hence this population target of 6.9m coming in as a possible solution. Kudos if calculus is mastered before the new Singapore Citizen, but frankly, I don't think all our new residents are the creme de la creme of their homelands. Just means even greater competition abound outside of Singapore.
So gist of my long winded post? We've been competing to outsmart, outlast and out-everything since donkey years ago not just against our classmates, our colleagues, but against the world. Can't stop *pant pant* that's the Singapore Reality *pant pant*. If there is an even better country to reside in elsewhere, why, go for it, with both eyes WIDE OPENED. And if life really is better, then pray do come back and advise the Singapore gov't how to govern.
Hm, just a thought. My dad and his parents are/were foreign talents! Oooooh, I'm a foreign talent's kid. Doesn't matter, though I'm female I am serving my NS by endeavoring to increase our main resource
* About our MRT system ............... :roll: Japan and Hong Kong like no such issues leh. They also very developed right? -
Em:
Did you watch 校园superstar competition? :rahrah: The trailer show the students singing in hong kong uniform!! Looks a bit like hong kong uniform but also a bit like Japanese. :skeptical:We are the only viable resource in our little red dot.
In 1988 while I was studying overseas, my classmates from Taiwan and Hong Kong were comparing what we had learnt for maths in primary school. Can't recall the details, but distinctly had the impression that Taiwan was ahead by one year, and Hong Kong by two years compared to Singapore's standards. The eighties, mind you.
Ten over years ago while holidaying in Hong Kong I had to struggle with my limited Cantonese to communicate cos no one really spoke conversant English and Mandarin. Went back for a holiday again two years ago, I was so shocked to find the MTR middle aged male attendant could speak reasonably good English, and the even older lady at the lost baggage counter in the airport was speaking in Cantonese, English and Mandarin!! Also saw 2 young girls (late teens/early twenties) at a busy busy bakery doing their jobs well with good spirit, and one still running after a customer who had forgotten her change. All I could think of was if the equivalent were to happen in Singapore we'd have gotten two grumpy little Singaporean twits. No wait, it would have been foreign talents at the cash register cos the Singaporeans cannot tahan.
Also, kids in Hong Kong have to be interviewed for entry into prestigious PRIMARY schools to show how multitalented they are. Primary One starts the year the kids turn 6, one year earlier than Singapore :yikes:
We are a developed nation and we face problems all developed nations face*, with the problems exacerbated by, well, see my first statement above, hence this population target of 6.9m coming in as a possible solution. Kudos if calculus is mastered before the new Singapore Citizen, but frankly, I don't think all our new residents are the creme de la creme of their homelands. Just means even greater competition abound outside of Singapore.
So gist of my long winded post? We've been competing to outsmart, outlast and out-everything since donkey years ago not just against our classmates, our colleagues, but against the world. Can't stop *pant pant* that's the Singapore Reality *pant pant*. If there is an even better country to reside in elsewhere, why, go for it, with both eyes WIDE OPENED. And if life really is better, then pray do come back and advise the Singapore gov't how to govern.
Hm, just a thought. My dad and his parents are/were foreign talents! Oooooh, I'm a foreign talent's kid. Doesn't matter, though I'm female I am serving my NS by endeavoring to increase our main resource
* About our MRT system ............... :roll: Japan and Hong Kong like no such issues leh. They also very developed right?
Maybe we are not proud to be Singaporean. Maybe we are really losing our national identity. :scared: -
sinoboy:
:scared: Now that you mention it, I can confirm that I saw the MTV. Singapore schools should redesign their school uniforms or what? Why can't we accept our own identity? But then again, is the video taken in Singapore? Only saw it once, so couldn't recall exactly.
Did you watch 校园superstar competition? :rahrah: The trailer show the students singing in hong kong uniform!! Looks a bit like hong kong uniform but also a bit like Japanese. :skeptical:
Maybe we are not proud to be Singaporean. Maybe we are really losing our national identity. :scared: -
Em:
:goodpost:We are the only viable resource in our little red dot.
In 1988 while I was studying overseas, my classmates from Taiwan and Hong Kong were comparing what we had learnt for maths in primary school. Can't recall the details, but distinctly had the impression that Taiwan was ahead by one year, and Hong Kong by two years compared to Singapore's standards. The eighties, mind you.
Ten over years ago while holidaying in Hong Kong I had to struggle with my limited Cantonese to communicate cos no one really spoke conversant English and Mandarin. Went back for a holiday again two years ago, I was so shocked to find the MTR middle aged male attendant could speak reasonably good English, and the even older lady at the lost baggage counter in the airport was speaking in Cantonese, English and Mandarin!! Also saw 2 young girls (late teens/early twenties) at a busy busy bakery doing their jobs well with good spirit, and one still running after a customer who had forgotten her change. All I could think of was if the equivalent were to happen in Singapore we'd have gotten two grumpy little Singaporean twits. No wait, it would have been foreign talents at the cash register cos the Singaporeans cannot tahan.
Also, kids in Hong Kong have to be interviewed for entry into prestigious PRIMARY schools to show how multitalented they are. Primary One starts the year the kids turn 6, one year earlier than Singapore :yikes:
We are a developed nation and we face problems all developed nations face*, with the problems exacerbated by, well, see my first statement above, hence this population target of 6.9m coming in as a possible solution. Kudos if calculus is mastered before the new Singapore Citizen, but frankly, I don't think all our new residents are the creme de la creme of their homelands. Just means even greater competition abound outside of Singapore.
So gist of my long winded post? We've been competing to outsmart, outlast and out-everything since donkey years ago not just against our classmates, our colleagues, but against the world. Can't stop *pant pant* that's the Singapore Reality *pant pant*. If there is an even better country to reside in elsewhere, why, go for it, with both eyes WIDE OPENED. And if life really is better, then pray do come back and advise the Singapore gov't how to govern.
Hm, just a thought. My dad and his parents are/were foreign talents! Oooooh, I'm a foreign talent's kid. Doesn't matter, though I'm female I am serving my NS by endeavoring to increase our main resource
* About our MRT system ............... :roll: Japan and Hong Kong like no such issues leh. They also very developed right? -
My HK friend’s (going to turn 3 years old) DS applied to 10 pre-schools. He was only accepted by 1 with 2 more interviews next week. Rejected by the other pre-schools.
Another HK friend’s son was rejected by all the pre-schools that he applied to. I know that he had hired a native speaker to teach his son English 2 times a week since the child was 2 years old and put in a lot of efforts in grooming his son but unfortunately, he is still not good enough.
The competition in HK is very keen, but thus far, neither myself nor DH had never heard any complaints from them and our circle of HK friends had been expanding over the years.
Agree that their standard of English and Chinese have improved - from my school days in the 199x to now as my counterpart at work. They are also highly efficient and they are always able to turnaround quite fast without compromising in quality. -
Coolkidsrock2:
This is also what I observed from a number of foreign friends I had the fortune to make. In many Asian countries, competition in schools is taken as a given - parents do what they can to help their children get that competitive advantage with little complaints. They are aware that what they are doing is over and above what schools are teaching, and whatever stress they may be putting themselves and their children is really self-inflicted but for long-term advantage. They don't think of themselves as being kiasu, but merely preparing their children to get a better future.My HK friend's (going to turn 3 years old) DS applied to 10 pre-schools. He was only accepted by 1 with 2 more interviews next week. Rejected by the other pre-schools.
Another HK friend's son was rejected by all the pre-schools that he applied to. I know that he had hired a native speaker to teach his son English 2 times a week since the child was 2 years old and put in a lot of efforts in grooming his son but unfortunately, he is still not good enough.
The competition in HK is very keen, but thus far, neither myself nor DH had never heard any complaints from them and our circle of HK friends had been expanding over the years.
Agree that their standard of English and Chinese have improved - from my school days in the 199x to now as my counterpart at work. They are also highly efficient and they are always able to turnaround quite fast without compromising in quality.
In Singapore, however, people get really hard on themselves when they find that they are forced to send their children for tuition just to keep up with the standards. We clamour for the government to lower the standards; we cry foul at the increased competition brought about by foreign students hungry for success; we insist on preschools being driven by a standard so that all children get to start P1 with the same footing, etc.
People seem to have taken meritocracy to mean \"fairness\" in the sense of equal distribution of resources or stress. That as a meritocratic society, everyone should be entitled to the same resources, the same level of stress, the same level of training, the same level of opportunities. We get uncomfortable when someone seems to be short-circuiting the process and getting ahead of everyone else. We frown on kiasu parents and we say they are the ones causing all the stress by increasing standards.
We seem now to be a nation adverse to competition, even though we are now at the very cusp in history where the world will be without borders, and staying in Singapore (or elsewhere) provides no insulation whatsoever from global competition.
That, my friend, is the \"Singapore reality\". -
ChiefKiasu:
Well said chief. We should aim for a system where everyone can realise their full potential. We as parents must know some kids have higher potential than the rest. I for one would not want my kid to compete with scholars or force my kid to participate in all kind of competitions and then complain life here is stressful. What if others want to do it? They may do so.
This is also what I observed from a number of foreign friends I had the fortune to make. In many Asian countries, competition in schools is taken as a given - parents do what they can to help their children get that competitive advantage with little complaints. They are aware that what they are doing is over and above what schools are teaching, and whatever stress they may be putting themselves and their children is really self-inflicted but for long-term advantage. They don't think of themselves as being kiasu, but merely preparing their children to get a better future.Coolkidsrock2:
My HK friend's (going to turn 3 years old) DS applied to 10 pre-schools. He was only accepted by 1 with 2 more interviews next week. Rejected by the other pre-schools.
Another HK friend's son was rejected by all the pre-schools that he applied to. I know that he had hired a native speaker to teach his son English 2 times a week since the child was 2 years old and put in a lot of efforts in grooming his son but unfortunately, he is still not good enough.
The competition in HK is very keen, but thus far, neither myself nor DH had never heard any complaints from them and our circle of HK friends had been expanding over the years.
Agree that their standard of English and Chinese have improved - from my school days in the 199x to now as my counterpart at work. They are also highly efficient and they are always able to turnaround quite fast without compromising in quality.
In Singapore, however, people get really hard on themselves when they find that they are forced to send their children for tuition just to keep up with the standards. We clamour for the government to lower the standards; we cry foul at the increased competition brought about by foreign students hungry for success; we insist on preschools being driven by a standard so that all children get to start P1 with the same footing, etc.
People seem to have taken meritocracy to mean \"fairness\" in the sense of equal distribution of resources or stress. That as a meritocratic society, everyone should be entitled to the same resources, the same level of stress, the same level of training, the same level of opportunities. We get uncomfortable when someone seems to be short-circuiting the process and getting ahead of everyone else. We frown on kiasu parents and we say they are the ones causing all the stress by increasing standards.
We seem now to be a nation adverse to competition, even though we are now at the very cusp in history where the world will be without borders, and staying in Singapore (or elsewhere) provides no insulation whatsoever from global competition.
That, my friend, is the \"Singapore reality\". -
HVR:
..We should aim for a system where everyone can realise their full potential. We as parents must know some kids have higher potential than the rest. I for one would not want my kid to compete with scholars or force my kid to participate in all kind of competitions and then complain life here is stressful. What if others want to do it? They may do so.
Certainly good to know there are many avenues to which kids can realize their full potential. Many parents, however, fear for the less able ones, perhaps due to certain social disadvantages, how to propel them and help them realize their greater potential, and there is certainly room for improvement in this area. I heard something in the budget pertaining to education in this aspect, and they are starting at pre-school level. -
concern2:
I think no matter what, we have to acknowledge there will be inequality, perceived or actual. We cannot expect government to level the playing field for everyone. Govt can only do it at the policy level, the rest is up to us. Greater emphasis at pre school education to weed out the 'inequality' is a good move. But we can do more as an individual. For example, if I earn low wages, would I want to have 4 or 5 kids? I see many low income families with many kids. No amount of baby bonus and child care grant can help you to nurture all your kids qualitatively. I would rather have only 1 or 2 kids and concentrate on them rather than thinning my resources.HVR:
..We should aim for a system where everyone can realise their full potential. We as parents must know some kids have higher potential than the rest. I for one would not want my kid to compete with scholars or force my kid to participate in all kind of competitions and then complain life here is stressful. What if others want to do it? They may do so.
Certainly good to know there are many avenues to which kids can realize their full potential. Many parents, however, fear for the less able ones, perhaps due to certain social disadvantages, how to propel them and help them realize their greater potential, and there is certainly room for improvement in this area. I heard something in the budget pertaining to education in this aspect, and they are starting at pre-school level.
Many other examples. Like buying the car and the property that you can ill afford. Overseas tour annually. Posh dinning and so on and at the end of the day, complain and complain and make Singapore sound like an inhabitable place and stir and incite their negative feelings and thoughts on Internet subjectively.
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